There are nearly 3,500 animal shelters across the country that are providing care and comfort to those animals. In the spirit of the holiday season, consider these ways of giving back and helping out an animal in need through your local shelter, as told to BuzzFeed from the Humane Society of New York:

Check your local shelter's website for exact information of how to donate; there may be a special fund for a specific animal or a general donation pool. (If you're interested in donating, HSNY recommends checking Charity Navigator first to make sure it's a legitimate destination.

Are you great at designing things? Or maybe you have a really popular ~online e-zine blog~? Take your other talents and see how you can put them to use for your local shelter. Reach out and see if they could work with you and your awesome ideas!